Grow an Orchard on the Patio or Balcony

August 4, 2010

What’s not to like about potted fruit trees decorating the patio, deck, or balcony? Have you given thought to the idea of growing potted fruit trees as an alternative, or in addition to the typical orchard of fruit trees that are planted in the ground?

If you’ve dismissed the idea of cultivating your own homegrown fruits, it’s time to reconsider… regardless of whether you’re in the city or country, container grown fruits could be a perfect fit.

Fantastic Advantages of Raising Potted Fruit Trees

Growing potted fruit trees will allow you to overcome a limited growing area and enjoy a nice harvest of delicious homegrown fruits in spite of the real estate. Even a porch, balcony, deck, or patio can offer many opportunities for raising fabulous fruits in containers!

As a matter of fact, potted fruit trees offer the backyard grower some advantages that acres of land in the country can’t match; just try growing citrus or tropical fruits out in the open in a northern climate. And who wouldn’t appreciate the convenience of taking your entire orchard with you if you ever decide to pack up and move from one location to another?

In other instances, even if you do have space to plant fruit trees in the ground, a container may really be a better option. For example, cold climate gardeners can raise potted fig trees and avoid the hassle of winter protection or the risk of the trees dying down to the ground because of icy temperatures.

Or if you have a shady yard, by growing potted fruit trees you can move the containers around to make best use of the available sunshine. And if you’re going to spruce up the deck or patio with plants anyway, why not chose plants that are both attractive and provide delicious fruit to enjoy?

The Patio Orchard Inventory and Development Plan

Right now my patio orchard contains seven fig trees, four grafted apples, a pomegranate, dwarf banana plant, and a gorgeous six foot bay laurel tree thrown in for good measure.

Future plans include adding some citrus fruits and more planters containing exotics such as pineapples, avocado, and guavas. I know that some tropical fruit trees like the avocado don’t have a chance of actually bearing fruit in my growing region but they still make attractive plants and I love the challenge of growing them as ornamentals anyway.

If your curiosity is mounting and you’d like to learn more about growing potted fruits in your own indoor and outdoor space stay tuned for the next article here that will provide more tips and information devoted to growing fruit in containers.

My wife and I have been talking about planting some fruit trees for several years but have never executed the plan because of the bad experience one of our neighbors has had with deer getting to the fruit before they do.

Your container growing idea sounds perfect for us. We have a 12×16 foot deck that faces south and is in full sun. We never use it for exactly that reason. But using it to plant some fruit trees is something we are very much interested in. Living in Rhode Island we need to take into consideration the cold and relatively short growing season.

Looking forward to your next post so I can start to develop a plan for next spring.

About the Gardener

Gardening is a wonderful gift that I've developed the hard way... through trial and error! I hope to share the incredible lessons learned and make things a lot easier for you out in the organic vegetable garden.